Chapter 635: Divine Race Completion

In the endless universe, darkness prevailed; without the light of stars, the entire cosmos sank into a pitch-black, sightless despair.

If there had been flashes of light from the earlier explosions, now there was nothing but absolute silence.

The Cosmic Emperor walked slowly through the universe; his feet did not step, yet his body moved continuously—externally, he appeared motionless, but in truth, he was always in motion.

His mouth, which devoured planets, continuously swallowed one planet after another, yet he felt no comfort whatsoever; his face, incapable of rich expression, bore only pain, and nothing but pain.

The Leadership Template, this thing born slightly later than him, was for him the most terrifying weapon—he understood this the moment he was forcibly locked into planetary form.

Yet he never knew how agonizing it would be when the Leadership Template entered his body.

The power of the Leadership Template clashed violently with his body, like matter colliding with antimatter, forcing a grimace of pain from him; he understood that if this continued, he would be destroyed exactly as originally programmed.

To avoid annihilation, he continuously devoured planets, digested them, and generated energy to suppress the Leadership Template—and he succeeded; he felt that with each planet consumed, his pain lessened slightly, so he pushed his speed to its limit, frantically devouring planets.

But time did not wait.

“Just a little more time, only a little more—just a little more!” The Cosmic Emperor suddenly screamed; his body, larger than a star, erupted with infinite light—light emanating from within, spreading outward—and wherever the light passed, his body shattered.

“How could this happen? Who put the Leadership Template inside me?”

Howls merged with explosions; within the Cosmic Emperor, energy more terrifying than a supernova erupted, instantly blowing his body apart—countless fragments, charged with energy, surged through the universe, piercing every meteor, planet, and star.

“How could this happen? I was so close to success.”

“Of course it succeeded.” A small dimensional plane unfolded; Aio’s ten-thousand-zhang true form stood upon it, smiling at the Cosmic Emperor, whose body was now reduced to nothing but a head.

“You didn’t even realize your weakness had been exploited—who else would you blow up?”

“Aio. You’ve truly entered the Milky Way.” The Cosmic Emperor’s rigid face shifted color again. “Was this all your doing behind the scenes?”

“No, I lack such ability. In the past, I had already perished. I merely seized an opportunity—when a man and woman observed the past timeline—to escape and return. For me, I should be considered resurrected in the future.” Aio’s face bore a faint, elusive smile, yet the coldness in his gaze revealed he was far from indifferent.

Perishing was a taboo word for deities, especially for one like him. Perishing was an unthinkable fate—had that woman not betrayed him, he would still be thriving, not fleeing from the past timeline to resurrect in the future.

“I never imagined even you perished. What of Hongjun and the Luo Shengmen Will?” The Cosmic Emperor’s expression calmed; one by one, his old friends had perished. Suddenly, he didn’t feel so miserable—he had three even worse off at the bottom, though one seemed to have returned.

This was a world of suffering; seeing someone worse off brought a little comfort.

"It’s fine—I eliminated three Chosen Ones. This galaxy will soon enter a cycle of rebirth; then I can still restore myself." The Cosmic Emperor, now reduced to nothing but a head, continued thinking; his earlier agitation had given way to calm.

“Hongjun perished, tricked by his own Dao. The Luo Shengmen Will was replaced and vanished within the Luo Shengmen World.” Aio spoke lightly. “They lacked the ability to resurrect in the future timeline—they’ve likely been utterly annihilated.”

Hearing this, the Cosmic Emperor felt a twisted satisfaction. “Indeed, that’s terrible.”

“Terrible, yes—I’m terrible too. Let’s delay destroying the universe for now. First, let me extract soul essences to strengthen myself.” Aio suddenly spoke.

At Aio’s words, the Cosmic Emperor immediately grew wary. Though he had seemed cheerful moments ago, he was certain Aio had an agenda—and now, Aio finally revealed his true intentions.

"I’ve just been resurrected—I’m extremely weak. I need the soul essences of the entire Milky Way to regain my power. Since your galaxy is about to enter its final cycle of rebirth, give me the souls of its lifeforms. Will you?"

Aio understood perfectly: extracting the power of laws was impossible within this galaxy—matter determined energy, and laws were perpetually suppressed by technology. Perhaps when the galaxy entered its cycle of rebirth and energy reached its peak, he could extract law-power—but by then, even the laws themselves would be annihilated, rendering extraction meaningless.

So he turned his attention to the souls of all beings—he would devour them to repair his body and reclaim his power.

“Impossible.” The Cosmic Emperor refused outright. “The souls of all beings belong to our Milky Way. If their souls are entirely consumed, it will severely hinder future evolution.”

“Hinder? Are you joking? We both know what this universe truly is—don’t try to deceive me with such nonsense.”

“And do you truly believe you eliminated those Chosen Ones? Ridiculous. You know how powerful a deity’s resurrection ability is. Help me—I’ll help you annihilate them completely.” Aio sneered.

“Fine.”

While the Cosmic Emperor and Aio negotiated, far away on an unknown planet, the Divine Race was embroiled in its fiercest debate.

“According to the final message from the Wisdom God, he ordered us to initiate the Divine Race Completion Plan.”

Adun looked coldly at the group of magistrates before him.

“Then begin.”

“No hesitation. Complete the final evolution—push him toward ultimate divinity.”

“Simultaneously, we shall all attain immortality.”

The magistrates hesitated not at all—they immediately enacted the Divine Race Completion Plan.

The Divine Race Completion Plan was an initiative proposed long ago by the Wisdom God: all Divine Race members would return to the Crimson Moon, merging their thoughts and consciousness into a single massive symbiotic entity to gain immortality and divine power.

Previously, though the Divine Race had mental links connecting their consciousnesses, supplementing wisdom and power, they were barely a collective consciousness. After the Wisdom God’s evolution and the return of the Dark Templars, the entire race became far more tightly bound—original mental links gradually birthed a brain, a shared brain, which now governed the entire Divine Race.

The Divine Race Completion Plan took this further: that brain, formed from countless intelligences, would become a true brain. The Divine Race’s physical bodies would enter the Crimson Moon, fusing completely—body and consciousness merged—to form a new lifeform. This was no longer the Divine Race—it was true divinity.

Countless Divine Race members were summoned; they boarded various starships and traveled from afar to the Crimson Moon.

The Crimson Moon was not a true moon—it was a red orb suspended above the continent, merely a vast, pulsing energy entity. It was called the Crimson Moon because of its red hue and its permanent presence in the sky, replacing the moon’s role.

Sensing the magistrates’ call, all Divine Race members arrived without hesitation and entered the Crimson Moon. When the last one stepped inside, the Crimson Moon emitted a heartbeat-like sound—and slowly, a human silhouette took shape.

“Resurrected again… but what was the last thing I saw?” The Wisdom God had a face more delicate than a woman’s, skin whiter than any woman could envy; his blue hair fell loosely.

The Crimson Moon flowed into him like liquid; all Divine Race consciousnesses and powers converged, becoming the stepping stone for his ascension to godhood.

“The final weapon has been deployed. I have no more chances. The Divine Race Completion Plan is complete. If this fails, I cannot do anything more.”

Far beyond the edge of the Milky Way, countless insectoid creatures clustered together, slowly coalescing into the form of the Hive Lord Harris. The moment Harris appeared, he tore through space and forcibly crossed it, seeking to vent his fury upon the Cosmic Emperor.

At the opposite end of the Milky Way, on a planet in the frontier region known as the Savage Galaxy, the figure seated in meditation slowly opened his eyes.

“The Universe Crusher did not activate, but the Magic God Sphere has exploded. The Cosmic Emperor, even if not dead, must be severely wounded.”

Pausing, Ye Nan gazed slowly into the void—beyond the void, the Cosmic Emperor’s silhouette loomed.

“Then seize this chance. This is the final opportunity—if I fail now, there will be no more.”

Ye Nan sighed softly; he had no more cards left. If he did not kill the Cosmic Emperor now, his future was doomed. (To be continued.)